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In times when excellence is at the top of the research agenda of all research and innovation policies, especially in Europe, research universities are the implicit reference model of most policy makers and most public debates. However, the implications, that is a major geographical concentration of public means and the existence of a dual system of training, are rarely highlighted; it is on the contrary, often when there are references to "cohesion". This paper suggests that, although this trend is clearly visible, the situation is more complex. In particular, the analysis overlooks another central role of universities: they have also become the main proximity knowledge provider. Both trends combine and result in radical transformation of university organisation – the separation of teaching departments from research structures, may these be called groups, units, centres, institutes or laboratories. This leads to question whether their present organisation is relevant to the socio-economic environment: I argue that the very fast increase of not-for-profit associations/foundations closely linked to universities are a lasting and promising feature of the university-society connection. These changes call for more study of university governance, certainly a pressing issue in countries like France.
The substantial pressures upon higher education systems and institutions are impacting upon individual roles and career paths. Yet recent research on academic identities (Henkel, 2000) suggests the responses are largely adaptive and evolutionary. This article starts by briefly revisiting some of the key aspects of the study by Kogan, Moses and El-Khawas (1994), and the paper by Gordon (1997), before turning to a short discussion of the principal trends which have affected the scene subsequently. It then explores three scenarios in terms of roles and career paths: evolution, selective restructuring, and step-change restructuring. The possible characteristics and implications for various stakeholders of each are considered, as is the connection to current trends, and indicators of change. The paper concludes with suggestions as to how institutions and systems might strategically plan for, and manage, changes in roles and career paths in order to ensure that individuals are motivated and perceive the changes positively and creatively...
Viet Nam has been quick to recover from the downturns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it faces long-term economic challenges. Boosting labour productivity will be crucial to sustained high economic growth. Attracting further foreign investment and reaping the benefit of advanced technologies will require additional improvements to the business environment through simplifying administrative procedures. Levelling the playing field of competition between state-owned enterprises and private enterprises will also help to maintain Viet Nam’s attraction for international investors. The country is already among the leaders of digitalisation in Southeast Asia, with strong adoption of e-commerce, telemedicine and telework. Further investment in digital skills will be key to maintain this momentum. The authorities have committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and are expanding renewable energy generation capacity. A comprehensive decarbonisation plan would facilitate the transition to greener growth.
Productivity in Turkey has been growing stronger than in most peer countries since 2010 but has slowed down. Despite a remarkably entrepreneurial population, business dynamism has also been less vigorous in recent years. This working paper discusses the factors behind this slowdown and analyses a wide range of structural policies that would help to revive productivity growth and unleash the full potential of the Turkish business sector. The elevated number of informal, semi-formal and fully formal forms constitutes a key impediment to higher growth and more high-quality jobs. Structural reforms that allow more flexibility in labour markets, more competition in product markets and major progress with the quality of governance would foster productivity growth, job creation but also boost the digital transformation. Streamlining and simplifying the complex system of regulations and government support schemes would prevent firms from clustering around eligibility thresholds and thus remove obstacles to the upscaling of firms.
Lithuania is digitalising its economy with visible success, but much scope remains for the integration of advanced technologies. The COVID-19 crisis confirmed the importance of digitalisation to sustain activity. Increased private investment in innovation is essential to speed up digitalisation. The take-up of R&D tax incentives is low, however, despite relatively generous provisions, and many smaller firms have not been inclined to innovate. More effective public support for business R&D and stronger research-business collaboration on innovation are important. There is also a need to promote digital uptake, especially among smaller firms that lag behind. Improving access to equity finance for young innovative firms, reducing remaining gaps in digital infrastructure, along with better information on digital tools and how to use them, can help smaller firms digitalise. The public sector too has to become more digitalised. Addressing weaknesses in foundational skills through education reforms and responding more effectively to labour market needs for digital skills would enable a wider adoption of advanced technologies and higher productivity growth, while ensuring that the digitalisation dividends are distributed fairly. Increased participation in adult learning, especially among the less educated, is the way forward to adapt to increased job automation in the digital era.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key contributors to economic growth and job creation. The current economic and financial crisis has reduced bank lending and has affected SMEs in particular. Capital markets will have to play a bigger role in financing SMEs in order to make them more resilient to financial shocks. This article reviews the spectrum of alternative market-based debt instruments for SME financing. It focuses on securitisation and covered bonds and also addresses issues regarding small/mid-cap bonds and private placements. It reviews the current state of the market for these instruments and identifies associated risks; analyses the barriers for issuers and investors alike; and provides best practices and high level recommendations to help alleviate barriers without hampering the overall stability of the system.
JEL classification: G1, G2, G23, G28
Keywords: SME finance, SME securitisation, non-bank finance, (high-quality) securitisation, asset-backed securities (ABS), SME CLO (collateralised loan obligation), (covered) bonds, private placements, financial regulation, European DataWarehouse, Prime Collateralised Securities (PCS) initiative
In the context of the green transition, universities have much to offer in joint green innovation projects with business, government and citizens. As hubs of diverse expertise, universities are uniquely placed to build interdisciplinary teams and bridge gaps between society and industry. Their regional ties also enable them to engage with the local ecosystem. This paper draws from ten international case studies of university partnerships with industry and society in green mobility, green energy and green products, services and processes. The comparative evidence gathered from interviews with representatives from these initiatives examines universities’ practices for green co-creation. Additionally, the paper outlines policy recommendations crucial to supporting these initiatives, essential for the global success of sustainable development efforts.
The sheer size of nuclear projects might be a barrier in some markets where private investors are looking for short‑term paybacks. However, during a period of economic recovery, large‑scale and long‑term energy infrastructure projects, such as nuclear power plants, can galvanise the social cohesion and economic spill‑overs required to relaunch general economic activity. Governments should incentivise investments in resilient low‑carbon energy infrastructure, such as nuclear energy, in the aftermath of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Proper policy and market frameworks to incentivise investment in essential infrastructure that supports low‑carbon electricity security and economic development are needed. Transitional, targeted government support for nuclear energy projects will be indispensable to unlock the benefits of nuclear energy in the post‑COVID‑19 economic recovery. Government support can and should be leveraged to attract cost‑effective private financing to deliver nuclear energy infrastructure projects. There is currently a window of opportunity for governments to support sustained cost reductions in nuclear energy projects through timely new build decisions – thus reinforcing the process of learning by doing and allowing these designs to move along their learning and cost curves.
- Across countries and economies participating in the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), a majority of teachers report receiving feedback on different aspects of their work in their schools.
- Teacher feedback has a developmental focus, with many teachers reporting that it leads to improvements in their teaching practices, and other aspects of their work.
- However, not all feedback is seen as meaningful: nearly half of the teachers across TALIS countries report that teacher appraisal and feedback systems in their school are largely undertaken simply to fulfil administrative requirements.
- Teachers who consider that they receive meaningful feedback on their work also tend to have more confidence in their own abilities and to have higher job satisfaction.
In the north-western corner of Germany, the Ems-Achse, a rural region, has witnessed a decade of economic growth. This growth has exacerbated labour shortages, primarily due to an aging population and the outmigration of youth. Acknowledging the potential of teleworking, regional stakeholders aim to explore its capacity to address labour gaps and attract a broader talent pool. This paper delves into three main dimensions for harnessing teleworking's potential: activating individuals who are not currently seeking employment, expanding the talent pool to include surrounding areas, and attracting workers from congested urban areas or overseas. To facilitate successful teleworking, the region can bolster its high-speed internet infrastructure, promote a culture of flexibility in management and nurture digital skills. Additionally, increasing opportunities for higher education, improving public transportation and enhancing international accessibility could help profile the Ems-Achse as an attractive hub for teleworkers.
Young people increasingly prioritise pursuing careers with positive social and environmental impacts. Social enterprises can help them fulfil this ambition. Youth-led social enterprises can address pressing social and environmental issues while providing young people with opportunities in the labour market. Despite these benefits, these entities often struggle due to the age of their founders and the specificities of their businesses. This paper analyses the drivers and potential benefits of youth-led social enterprises (section 1), assesses the challenges they face (section 2) and provides policy guidance to address them through tailored support programmes based on best practice examples and experiences from OECD countries and beyond (section 3).
Increasingly more emphasis is placed on damages and risks that people, companies and governments face in the way they affect their well-being as well as material conditions or financial fundamentals. There is, however, still quite a bit of heterogeneity in how countries and companies frame and implement their endeavours, sometimes with no harmonised or unified goals as well as a lack of consistent metrics for assessing their impacts on the environment and society. Common semantics on just transition concepts and a solid understanding of just transition activities by governments and businesses would help assess the scale of the problem.
This Policy Insights provides a glimpse at some of the positive practices to encourage others to make the shift and provide a benchmark against which future action could be measured.
Portugal has notably increased its international openness over recent decades, with exports’ share of GDP rising by 20 percentage points since 1993. This analysis couples microdata with panel regression techniques to investigate the drivers of Portuguese export growth over the 1995-2016 period. The results highlight that there was no one single factor behind the export expansion. While an improvement in price competitiveness played a significant role, the majority of the increase in exports was explained by other factors. These include increases in the quality of export products and weak domestic demand that prompted firms to increase their focus on foreign markets. The empirical results also suggest that the restoration of the health of the Portuguese financial sector and its further development is beneficial for export growth.
With many countries struggling to boost the attractiveness of the teaching profession, it is important to understand the sources of teacher stress better. This brief explores data on lower secondary teachers from TALIS 2018 to investigate whether stressors vary according to students’ socio-economic background. In addition, it looks at which stressors are more likely to be associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and plans to continue in the role.
Resource banks support learning in classrooms by improving the quality of teacher instruction and assessment. They are typically online platforms that include examples of curriculum-aligned assessment tasks and complementary instruction, assessment and learning materials. These can be used by teachers, students and parents to improve learning in schools. While resource banks have become an important curriculum and assessment tool in many OECD countries, information about them remains scarce. This policy perspective provides a framework to help educators plan, design and use resource banks. First, policymakers should have a thorough concept of the resource bank and carefully plan its governance and resourcing structure. Second, the definition and development of its content and the platform’s underlying technology should be guided by quality, security and privacy principles that place users at the centre. Thirdly, once released, it is important to promote awareness of the resource bank to key stakeholders and maintain content and IT-support. This will ensure resource banks have a long-lasting and positive impact on educational practices.